


Hugs for the Hollow One

by Steamed_Tets



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, but like only a little, im going to give the vessels all the love their father never did this is a threat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:01:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28206522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Steamed_Tets/pseuds/Steamed_Tets
Summary: New experiences, new feelings. Things can be better now. Things can change.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 74





	Hugs for the Hollow One

The first time it had happened was when they finally woke up. Laying on the floor of the Black Egg, the other Vessel had their small arms wrapped tight around their neck. That had been the first thing they noticed, the second was that the immense, blinding pain was gone, only to be replaced by exhaustion that would come from containing the dream plague for eons. But this wasn’t anything painful. Not at all this felt...nice. They took a long, deep breath. Then another. They couldn’t feel her anymore. She was gone. The tiny Vessel clinging to them had done it. They had defeated the Radiance and ended her reign on the decrepit kingdom of Hallownest. 

Neither of them moved for a long time. This gave the Vessel time to think, time to rest, weary from the years spent within the egg keeping her trapped here for as long as possible. And still, they had failed. The Pale King had misjudged them, they were not hollow as he had once claimed. That had been proven when the Radiance had just barely slipped out of their grasp for ever the short period of time. They had been weakened in there, failed in the one task they had been created to do. A Hollow Knight that had never been hollow at all. 

Something to their right stirred, a bug with smooth horns not unlike their own and covered in a red shawl that stood out amongst the darkness of the surrounding room. Speaking of the surrounding room, the walls were different now, no longer confined to the egg but simply the room in which the egg had been formed. A prisoner with no prison to hold them any longer. The Vessel on top of them stirred as well, finally removing their tiny arms from around their neck to go and do the same thing to the oddly familiar bug in red, who returned the Vessel's gesture in full. 

Vessels were not warm creatures by nature, but as they sat up, watching the other two beings inside the temple, they missed the feeling already. Barely any time had passed and they missed it. Hopefully, with the Radiance gone, they’d have the chance now to experience it again. 

~~~~~~~~~~

The next time it happened, Hollow had a name and a family. Hornet, the bug in red, had long past revealed to them to be their sister, the Gendered Child, daughter to Herrah the Beast and the Pale King. Ghost, the much smaller Vessel, and the one to have successfully defeated the Radiance, was not only a fearsome knight in battle, but also incredibly clingy. Whether it be clinging around their neck in a “hug” as they’d both taught Hollow the act had been called, or just sitting in their lap. It was nice, it felt right. Ghost would sit on their lap for hours, teaching them some signs for communication, something supposedly Hornet had taught them from her time before. Not a day would pass where Ghost didn’t wake up and immediately give both Hornet and Hollow a hug in that order. 

The three of them lived in Distant Village, Hornet’s home, but made regular appearances to every other major city in Hallownest frequently. Over time, during separate trips to all these places, Ghost had a number of friends (dads) they considered to be close to, and gave hugs to nearly all of them. Hornet much less so. Her hugs seemed to be reserved for Ghost and themself exclusively. Each hug Hollow received, they never wanted it to end. It was warm, and comforting, even if they only had one arm to return the hug with. 

~~~~~~~~~~

The third time it happened was a bad night. Awoken in the dead of night, not even the normal skitters and chittering of Deepnest to make a sound. Their breathing was heavy as they clutched the blanket they used to cover themself with. Large, black tears slipped out of the eye holes in their mask and onto the bed below them. Shaking hand brought their blanket up over their shoulders, trembles making it hard to stay calm as thoughts haunted their mind. The deep dark lake far below them, climbing out and seeing the light, only to leave the rest of their siblings behind in that lonely place. The painful training, the screaming, nail in hand,  _ don’t think, _ no cost too great,  _ don’t feel anything, _ no cost too great,  _ no mind to think, don’t let them see anything. You are the Hollow Knight. That means that you must be entirely Ho- _

“Hollow!” Hornet’s voice echoed in their small bedroom, Ghost standing in a ready stance at her feet. Hollow looked up at them in shock, tears still quickly dripping down the edge of their mask. Ghost moved faster than Hollow would have thought possible and had their small arms wrapped around their neck before they could properly react. Hornet right on their heels squeezing the both of them in her embrace. Hollow sat in quiet shock for a moment, their trembles shaking them to the core as they wrapped their arm around both Hornet and Ghost. Warmth surrounded them as Ghost hugged them ever tighter. They buried their face into Ghost and Hornet, their trembles slowly fading away with the comfort of having their siblings there. There was no more Pale King, there was no more need to be empty. They had a family now, people who cared about them deeply. And they loved that, they loved them, and their family loved them back just as much.

The three of them spent the rest of the night in Hollow’s bed, snuggled up under the covers. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Hugs, Hollow thinks, are something to be cherished. Something soft, something warm, comforting. An act that is, by its very nature, full of love and kindness. Something that can be done to those you love most, but also to anyone you love. They’ve been given a second chance in this world, in this life, and maybe hugs are a way they can spread all the love they can. 

**Author's Note:**

> ALRIGHT first off shout out to Dan for giving me the title for this bad boy. I'm trying to just, write more of whatever I want as compared to changing ideas or whatever. I don't wanna give myself like super high word counts or limit myself to everything that I post having a super coherent plot to it. I just wanna write things and this is the first step in that direction. It's not terribly long and I'm still getting a grasp on the characters and putting their actions into words BUT I meant what I said when I'm going to give every Vessel love that isn't debatable.


End file.
